Vallou de Villenueve, ‘Nude Study’ for Courbet Les Baigneuses, 1853

Vallou de Villenueve, ‘Nude Study’ for Courbet Les Baigneuses, 1853

Villeneuve Nude Study

Julien Vallou de VilleneuveFrench, 1795-1866 A painter who exhibited at the Paris Salons from 1814-40, Julien Vallou de Villeneuve (born in Boissy-Saint-L�ger) was later known as a lithographer. He became interested in photography in 1842, shortly after the new medium’s invention, as an aid to his graphic work. His subjects included fashion, costume, and daily life, as well as light erotica, sometimes published in conjunction with other artists. By 1850 Vallou de Villeneuve had begun to practice photography in his studio, primarily female nudes and portraits of actors. In 1853-54 he published a series of nude studies, �tudes d’apr�s nature, which were sold as artists models and to the general public. Several were used for well-known works by Gustave Courbet. Vallou de Villeneuve’s works are admired for their emotional restraint, as well as for their masterful orchestration of form. A member of the Soci�t� h�liographique in 1851, he helped found the Soci�t� française de photographie in 1854. T.W.F.